I will admit I did not originally want to see “The Marvels.” I have been feeling a bit of Marvel Cinematic Universe burnout with the sheer number of productions. However, some free time sent me on my merry way to see the film, and I highly recommend it.
“The Marvels” might be one of my favorite releases this year, ranking leagues above “Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3” and “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantamania.” The movie felt like it had the humor and emotion that has been missing from recent films and it carved a path for the young Avengers in the future.
While most productions leading up to “The Marvels” have been focused only on Kane the Conqueror and the issues that will lead to where we find “The Marvels” now, this movie instead focused on more of the multiverse with no mention of Kane at all.
I was wary of the combination of Captain Marvel (Brie Larson), Ms. Marvel (Iman Vellani) and Captain Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris), but it proved to be rather delightful. Kamala’s youthful exuberance and naivety – as she is new to the superhero domain – paired well with Carol and Monica’s rather defeated and older hero attitudes.
Kamala facing the hardships of being a hero, along with seeing Carol and Monica reunite, fulfilled the emotional character arcs I needed. The movie could have focused more on repairing the relationship between Monica and Carol, which had too easy of a happy resolution for me. However, considering the end of the movie, maybe more exploration of their relationship can happen in future projects.
Another highlight of the movie is that “the villain,” Dar-Benn (Zawe Ashton), lacked a backstory that could have been further fleshed out so the viewers could easily understand her motive. And aren’t those the best villains – the ones you can sympathize with?
She wanted to protect and restore her home, Hala, after it had been left in ruin due to Carol’s actions when getting rid of the Supreme Intelligence. Protecting one's home is something many can relate to.
That being said, I wish the movie had explored the relationship Carol had with Hala more. The entire movie, Carol is wracked with guilt about how she handled “freeing” the Kree from the Supreme Intelligence, but we don’t see much of the fallout besides word of a civil war that rid Hala of its resources.
It would have been interesting to explore more of what the Civil War was about. It is never explained.
However, this is one of my favorite MCU movies from the past year. It combined a nice storyline with humor and emotion that makes it worth the watch. Definitely stay for the end credit scene. It is jaw-dropping.
Elizabeth Secor is a freelance reporter for the Daily Lobo. She can be reached at culture@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @esecor2003
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Elizabeth Secor is a freelance reporter for the Daily Lobo. She can be contacted on Twitter @esecor2003
